


Nights in Wakanda

by ravenclawalumni_2010



Series: The Story of Tony Stark and Stephanie Rogers [2]
Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Feelings Of Guilt and Regret, Female Steve Rogers, Female Steve Rogers and T'Challa Friendship, Heartbreak, One Night Stands, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Secret Relationship, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:15:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24775996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclawalumni_2010/pseuds/ravenclawalumni_2010
Summary: Steph suffers the emotional consequences after the events of Civil War, and her nights in a country where she sought refugee helps ease her heartache of losing the person she loved as a result of her actions.
Relationships: M'Baku/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: The Story of Tony Stark and Stephanie Rogers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791826
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a two-shot, so I will be posting the second chapter as soon as I am able. I noticed a lot of fics out there where it was post-Civil War, but they were all mainly female Tony Stark fics so I created one with a female Steve Rogers within her POV after the events of Civil War and how she feels on what has happened if she was in love with Tony Stark and he was in love with her.
> 
> I see A LOT of fics where it is a female Steve Rogers and Tony Stark after these events, but the main pairing is fem!Steve/Bucky. Honestly, I love fem!Steve/Bucky, but this is a very common pairing and it does get old after a while. I definitely would like to see more stories/one-shots of a fem!Steve Rogers and Tony Stark genuinely falling in love with each other.
> 
> You are allowed to leave a comment, kudos, constructive criticism, I just don't allow flames. Please be respectful and don't leave a flame. If you don't like my story, that is fine, just please move on to the next story that you feel like you will enjoy more.

It’s been a few hours since Steph’s companion fell asleep, and it was already way past midnight. Steph, however, found herself unable to sleep, her thoughts filled with sorrow and regret that it made it hard for her to go to sleep. Even though she just had the most mind-blowing sex in a while now, she found that she just couldn’t sleep, but her companion slept peacefully next to to her without a care in the world. Probably because he didn’t carry the burden that Steph carried and it was why it was so easy for him to fall asleep while she couldn’t.

Her companion in question was M’Baku of the Jabari Tribe. She met him months ago when she and Bucky sought refuge within Wakanda, and she couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Despite his gruffness, he was rather warm and open and had a sense of humor, but he was also strong. Steph originally thought she was drawn to him because of the latter quality, but she discovered it was much more than that later on as they both flirted with each other back and forth over the past few weeks. M’Baku was not only strong, but he was brave and walked with an air of confidence, his head held high as if he were a king. Considering that he was a lord of his tribe, it is no surprise that he walked with such an air of confidence, and yet that confidence would sometimes be on the borderline of haughtiness. It reminded her of Tony, and that brought an almost physical ache in her chest, but it’s probably what made sleeping with him a bit easier. That, and Steph found him to be the most fascinating person she’s ever met, next to Tony.

M’Baku himself was fascinated with Steph and often told her how she reminded him of his own women from his tribe. How they were strong and fierce, like Stephanie was, especially in battle. He would tell her stories of the battles his tribe have been through and how the strongest and fiercest of their female warriors would make their enemies quake with fear. Hearing his war stories made Steph smile as it helped ease her heartache of losing the person she loved with all her heart, if only temporarily, and it reminded her of her own battles, and she in turn would tell M’Baku of her own war stories. He knew who she really was, almost everyone who lived in Wakanda did, so Steph did not omit anything out in order to keep her identity a secret like she normally had to do when she and Bucky were still on the run.

She guessed that is another reason why she connected with M’Baku so well: he was a warrior like she was. He was also honorable from the way he talked and how high of a regard T’Challa held him in, and Steph admired that. At first, the relationship between Steph and M’Baku was just two fellow human beings who shared a commonality by having the same near life experiences and then it became more sometime after that. That commonality turned into admiration and then that admiration turned into flirtation. Steph couldn’t help but think how handsome M’Baku was, and he knew it too, for he enjoyed it when women flirted with him. Steph one time accidentally openly admitted to him that she found him attractive.

_ “So, even the great Captain America has eyes for someone like me, M’Baku the Great Gorilla?” _ he said to her as he cocked his head to the side with a cocky grin on his face.

The cocky grin on his face made Steph blush and look down at the floor in embarrassment, but it also reminded her so much of Tony that it almost brought tears to her eyes. It had been months since the events of the Civil War, as the public was calling it, and Steph was still suffering the consequences of the aftermath of it. Besides being a fugitive and having to go on the run, Steph was dealing with the emotional consequences such as losing someone that she loved and someone she actually saw herself spending the rest of her life with. Now, though, she knew that life was not even possible.

‘ _ Why didn’t I tell him the truth right from the start? _ ’ she thought as tears started to well up in her eyes.

She knew why, and it was selfish. She knew it too and even admitted it to Tony when she sent him that letter, but admitting it did nothing to lessen the heartache or guilt that she was feeling right now. She knew she would lose Tony from the moment she chose to help Bucky—her best friend and someone that she considered like a brother to her—and just when things were turning around,  _ just _ when it seemed as if Tony was going to help her, Zemo revealed the truth about Tony’s parents. That’s when Steph had to do the most heartbreaking thing she ever had to do in her entire life: choose to protect her best friend and hurt Tony, the one man she loved with all her heart, in the process. It had been months since the events of Civil War, but it still hurts her ‘til this day.

Steph was on a mission with Natasha and Sam getting some Chitauri technology back from a terrorist group, and it was on that mission that the leader revealed to her that there were rumors Tony was moving on from her with Pepper. Steph knew that the leader was just trying to get under her skin and while she did manage to bring him and his organization down, she would be lying if she said that he didn’t under her skin. He got under her skin  _ real good _ . When Steph was able to have a moment to herself, she just sat there and cried, feeling all the heartache, guilt, and remorse of losing Tony. She was hoping against hope that maybe there was still a chance for her and Tony to work things out, even if the chance was rather slim, but to hear about him possibly moving on made it clear to her that there was no chance of them working it out. That chance was no longer there, no turning back from it now after the choices she’s made.

It was Natasha who had found her crying her eyes out. Natasha was normally not the type to hug or touch anyone unless she was really close with someone, but considering everything they’ve been through together and seeing Steph crying unshed tears, she did not hesitate. She went up to Steph, put her arms around her, and let her cry into her shoulder. It was the comfort that Steph needed at the time, but what she wanted more than anything was companionship. She just wanted to feel some type of love, even if it was not deep and was only temporary, to forget ever loving Tony Stark, and so that’s how she and M’Baku ended up in bed together.

She came back to Wakanda after her mission to check on Bucky and then she went into the Golden City to talk with T’Challa and Shuri. It was there that Steph ran into M’Baku, and she suddenly felt compelled to kiss him, so she did that without warning. She kissed him long and hard on the mouth and, although M’Baku was shocked by the kiss at first, he eventually reciprocated it, taking her to his guest bedroom within the palace.

Now, here she was laying wide awake while M’Baku slept peacefully right next to her, his chest rising and falling as he did. For a moment, she imagined him having an arc reactor in the middle of his chest and that she was staring at the sleeping face of Tony instead of M’Baku. Sleeping with M’Baku helped forget about Tony for a little bit, but now that it was over, thoughts of him and what could have been came back into her mind. It made her wish it was Tony in bed with her and not M’Baku, and she started to feel guilty that she used M’Baku like that. He deserved better than that. Steph sighed as she realized that she was not going to fall asleep any time soon, so she got up and got dressed back in her jeans and black tank top and then quietly slipped out of the room.

She went out to one of the lounge rooms where she got a good view of the Golden City, and she had her sketch pad out, sketching a drawing of her and Tony dancing from memory. Laying with M’Baku helped ease her heartache a little bit, but there was something about drawing or sketching that really helped clear her mind, and her sorrow of losing Tony was almost forgotten. Even though she was sketching something of her and Tony may seem counterproductive, it actually helped Steph remember the good times instead of what went wrong.

“It looks as if I am not the only one who cannot sleep tonight,” came a voice behind her, making her nearly jump.

She turned and saw that it was T’Challa who was standing not too far from her where he was wearing a Wakandan nightgown and pants. When she saw that it was T’Challa, she meant to get up from her chair to show respect to him. He was a king, afterall, and deserved to be respected, but he raised his hand when he saw her do this, indicating to her to stop.

“Please, there’s no need for that,” he said, “you are a friend, so there’s no need for formality.”

Steph only nodded as she sat back down and T’Challa sat in the chair that was right next to her.

“What’s keeping you up?” she asked him, and T’Challa looked at her as if trying to decide if he should tell her what’s going on or not.

“Memories that just bring a lot of guilt and on what could have been if things had been different,” he responded, and Steph knew what he was thinking about. After getting to know the King of Wakanda a little more over these past months, a friendship grew and they both grew to understand each other. She was also fully aware of what happened between him and Killmonger before she and Bucky got here. She could relate to his feelings as she often thought of what could have been as well between her and Tony.

“Your father as well as your cousin made their choices in their lives, choices that affected everyone around them,” Steph said. “You did what you thought was best for not only your country, but the entire world. You can’t fault yourself for doing that.”

“No, I don’t, but he was still family. I only wish my father would not have done it, so that things would have turned out a little bit differently for my cousin, and maybe he would not have grown so angry and hateful.”

“I do not think anyone could predict what could have happened, regardless of your father’s choices, it’s part of life. And if it had not happened that way, I do not think you would have understood the consequences of isolating yourselves from the problems of the world. My own country learned this the hard way during World War II.”

“Sometimes, we do have to learn things the hard way,” T’Challa said in agreement, “and I thank Bast every day for blessing me with another chance at life so that I was able to stop Killmonger.”

“And I certainly thank her too; otherwise, my friends and I would still be on the run, and Bucky would still be struggling with the program HYDRA implanted in his head,” Steph replied with a grateful smile his way. “You’re an honorable and good man, T’Challa. Because of that, I think it will help you become a great king.”

“Thank you, my friend, I appreciate you saying that.”

Steph only smiled in response before going back to her drawing, and the two just remained in the silence with Steph sketching and T’Challa admiring the view of the Golden City. Both were just enjoying the silence and the company of each other, dealing with their own sorrow and guilt in their own way when T’Challa broke the silence.

“I am a bit surprised that you are up, my friend, given what happened last night,” he said. “I figured sleep would come easier for you.”

It did not take long for Steph to understand the meaning of T’Challa’s words.

“I guess you saw us kissing, huh?” she asked.

“It was actually one of the servants, and she told Okoye who then mentioned it to me,” T’Challa said. “I wasn’t sure if it was true or not until I saw you walk out of his room earlier.”

“I guess even a culture that is so vast and noble that they are not above gossip when it comes to their leaders,” Steph replied in a bit of a jesting but serious tone.

“I think you’ll find that when it comes to royalty or anyone who holds a position of power, they aren’t immune to gossip or scandal, regardless of the culture,” T’Challa responded, a bit of mirth showing in his eyes.

“Or anyone that the public holds in high esteem.”

T’Challa nodded in agreement, knowing that Steph was referring to people like him and her. Superheroes or ‘enhanced individuals’, like Secretary Thaddeus Ross usually called them.

“The council will not approve if they were to ever find out. We may have become less isolated in my time as king, but we are still rather wary of letting outsiders in and, as one of the members of the council and lord of the Jabari Tribe, I would have to advise M’Baku as king to tread lightly on the situation.”

“And what would you say to him as a friend?”

T’Challa was quiet for a moment as he looked at her in the eyes with an understanding and sympathetic expression on his face.

“I would tell him the exact same thing, but for a different reason. You still love him, don’t you?”

Steph did not need to ask who he was referring to, she already knew and the tears started to well up in her eyes again. She turned away so that T’Challa wouldn’t see the ones that fell down her cheeks, but he probably already knew she was crying, for she sniffled and whipped the tears away. She finally turned back to him and nodded, giving him the answer to his question.

“I just wish I had done things differently,” she began, trying her best to keep her voice steady. “If I’d told Tony the truth about his parents from the beginning, then maybe we’d still be together, even though we’d be apart, at least physically. I did what I did, though, and I lost him as a result. I ain’t got no one to blame but myself for that.”

“It wasn’t entirely your fault,” T’Challa responded. “We all played our part in the Civil War, it was just exacerbated by Zemo. Someday, Stark will understand and forgive you for that.”

“Tony is not really the understanding type.”

“If he truly loves you, then he will in time.”

“It’s too late, anyway, he’s moved on, last I heard…”

“If that’s true, then it probably means it isn’t meant to be right now, but if Stark truly and deeply loves you, then he’ll find his way back to you.”

Steph said nothing in response, not sure what to say to that. T’Challa’s words made her feel a little hopeful, if only slightly, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up too high at the possibility. The chance of her and Tony getting back together was rather slim at best. If not getting back together, then maybe making amends, at least.

“What are you drawing?” T’Challa asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, um, well, it’s…. Here.”

And she just handed him her sketchpad. She wasn’t able to put the drawing in words, so she thought it would be best to just show it to him. T’Challa took the sketchpad from her and looked at the drawing she was working on. The drawing was from the moment where she and Tony were in Argentina one night after a mission, and they danced with each other. Steph recalled fondly how they were the center of attention when they were on the dance floor as they were really good and well-known superheroes on top of that, and someone had recorded them and uploaded it on YouTube where Steph eventually saw it later on. It was the beginning stages of their relationship and how things were much simpler back then. Since first doing the tango for a mission, it was their thing to do, but it had been almost too long since she and Tony had done the tango together, and she missed dancing the tango with him very much.

“This is very detailed, you are definitely a wonderful artist,” T’Challa complimented. “What are you and Stark doing exactly?”

“We’re dancing,” Steph replied and a look of clarity came on T’Challa’s face as he looked back at the drawing. “The tango, to be exact, it is what helped us get together in the first place, actually…”

“Do you love to dance?”

“Yeah, I’ve always talked about finding a dance partner, and I thought I had found it in Tony, but I pretty much lost my dancing partner when I chose my best friend over him.”

“How long has it been since you danced with someone?” T’Challa asked, and Steph paused as she thought about it.

“It’s been nearly a year and a half since I last danced,” she finally responded.

“Do you miss dancing?”

“More than you know.”

T’Challa looked at Steph for a moment, a contemplative look on his face until his features changed as if an idea came to his head. He suddenly placed Steph’s sketchpad on the small table-stand in between their chairs and sat up before offering his hand to her. Steph only gave him a confused look as she shifted her gaze between his face and his offered hand.

“Come, stand with me,” he finally said.

It was a minute before Steph finally took his offered hand, and he pulled her up on her feet.

“What are we doing?” Steph asked as T’Challa led her to the middle of the room.

“Doing something you haven’t done in a long time,” he replied. “I’m afraid I do not know the tango, but I know a little of the waltz from my time at social events in foreign countries. Perhaps that will suffice?”

“Wait, we’re dancing?” Steph asked in a surprised tone.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“What about Nakia?”

“What about her?”

“Wouldn’t she get, you know…?”

It was then that T’Challa finally understood what Steph was asking. He often forgot that other people’s cultures and understanding of the world was so different from his own that he did not think how Steph would feel about dancing with a man who was taken and how she would take into consideration of how Nakia might feel about it. He never understood the whole concept of jealousy when it came to relationships, he always found it confusing and thought a jealous person was someone who was very insecure.

“It is not our way to be jealous of another when it comes to relationships,” he explained. “Nakia will know and understand the reason behind it, just think of it as two friends dancing and having fun.”

“I don’t know the waltz,” Steph responded after being quiet for some time.

“I know the basics, I can teach you.”

T’Challa then took a step back and bowed.

“Will the great Captain America honor the King of Wakanda with a dance?”

Steph bit her lip as she contemplated taking T’Challa on his offer or not. It had been a while since she had danced and she normally did it with Tony, which is why taking T’Challa on his offer felt wrong, but she had to admit, she missed dancing. She guessed  _ one _ dance could not hurt. If it became too much and she got too emotional, she'd stop and leave, so she nonverbally responded to his offer by taking his offered hand.

“Last I checked, I am no longer Captain America, but you may have a dance with Stephanie Grace Rogers, King T’Challa.”

“Very well, Ms. Rogers,” T’Challa said with a smile.

He then pulled Steph into an embrace with his right hand on Steph’s upper back and Steph’s left hand on his right shoulder, and they stood about a width apart.

“I’ll teach you the box-step,” T’Challa began. “I start forward with my right and then you step back with your left foot.”

He stepped forward with his right and Steph did as he instructed by stepping back with her left foot. She was then led to a glide to the right, and there was a pause as T’Challa instructed her to step forward with her right foot as he stepped back with his left foot. He glided her to the left side and back to the spot they were originally in, thus completing the box-step. They repeated the steps more than enough times until T’Challa transitioned them to the box-step turn without warning. It made Steph almost slip the first few turns, but then she finally got the hang of it. Soon, she and T’Challa were gliding across the room with a little more grace and ease.

Eventually, T’Challa paused their dancing for a moment to turn on some waltz music and went right back to dancing once he did. As they danced, Steph felt almost all her worries were forgotten and began to feel a little lighter, a smile coming onto her face. It felt nice to just dance with someone, even when said person was just a friend. Of course, there was nothing like dancing with Tony Stark, she still missed dancing with him, but for now, she was just going to enjoy the moment and dance with T’Challa. She began to feel grateful towards him, glad that he offered a dance with her, she knew why he did it and she felt a new sense of gratitude towards him. She knew that T’Challa was a good man, but to see the depths of how kindhearted he was made Steph realize that he was more than just a good man to her, but a great friend. Only a true friend will go through great lengths to make their friend who was going through a rough time to ease their suffering by just being there. Sometimes, you really do need to just dance all your worries and cares away.

The song that T’Challa put on finally stopped, and him and Steph stopped dancing and pulled away from each other. They said nothing at first as they stared at each other, and T’Challa smiled when he saw the rather content look on Steph’s face. He preferred to see that over tears in her eyes and her face full of sorrow.

“I am happy to see a smile gracing my friend’s features,” he said. “You look better when you smile, and I am very sure Lord M’Baku will tell you the same.”

Steph smiled sheepishly and looked down at the floor, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before looking back up at T’Challa.

“Thank you, T’Challa, I really needed that,” she said.

“What are friends for?”

Steph responded with a nod and a grateful smile. Bidding him good night, she turned to leave when she was stopped by T’Challa.

“Stephanie?”

He continued when Steph turned back to him.

“I hope you’ll find your dance partner again, whether it be Stark or someone you’ll meet in the future, but you’ll find one again.”

Steph nodded, feeling a little more hopeful than before. She finally left the room to go back to M’Baku’s to try to get some sleep. Once she was gone, T’Challa grabbed his phone and sent a text message to someone, saying, ‘ _ Thank you for the advice on the dancing, it worked. _ ’ He got a response not too long after that, and Natasha’s name popped up in the text message.

‘ _ Thanks, T’Challa, I appreciate you being there for her when I couldn’t. _ ’

‘ _ She’s got wonderful friends like you and Sam watching over her, and I consider her my friend too. _ ’

‘ _ You’re a good man, T’Challa, and a great friend. _ ’

‘ _ I do my best. _ ’

And with that, T’Challa’s fatigue started to catch up with him. Yawning, he headed back to his room where he fell asleep in Nakia’s arms.


	2. The White Lion and the Great Gorilla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steph talks about her past relationship with M'Baku for the first time, and they say goodbye for the last time as lovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that I took forever to post the last chapter to this two-shot! I got such a huge writer's block and was unsure how exactly I wanted to do the second chapter, so I finally settled on this. That, and I'm back to work now. With my job, it can be stressful and exhausting so the only energy I have is during the weekend. I'll now get to writing the sixth chapter to Between Two Universes, and I'll post that as soon as I am done.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this two-shot. Please read and review if you love it, or leave a constructive criticism, but no flames. Thank you!

Steph woke up with a start as she woke up from yet another nightmare, nearly screaming in fright as she did. She sighed with relief when she realized that what she was experiencing previously was just a nightmare and nothing more. She leaned her head against the headboard of the bed frame as she brought the sheets up to her bare chest to cover it up, even though there was no need for modesty since M’Baku saw plenty not that long ago and a few times before that as well. She found herself unable to go back to sleep due to the nightmare, so she just decided to stay up until she was more calm.

Lately, Steph has been waking up with nightmares about Tony, and it may happen differently every time, but the theme was the same: an alien race came down to Earth to claim it as theirs and Tony ended up following them into space to stop them, and Steph would try following him, but she found herself stuck on Earth. So far, the nightmares had left Tony’s fate rather ambiguous, but this nightmare left her a little more shaken as this time, Steph dreamt that Tony had called her on the cell phone she gave him and he was  _ begging _ for her to help him. Sad part was, though, she couldn’t help him. It was as if something was holding her back, keeping her from rescuing Tony. Every time she woke up from her nightmare, she had to remind herself that it was just a nightmare and nothing more, that Earth has not been invaded by aliens (yet), and that Tony was still here on Earth and not being a self-sacrificing idiot like he usually is. With the amount of times she had that nightmare, though, Steph was beginning to think her nightmares were trying to warn her of something that was to come.

There was the sound of a snort right next to her that interrupted her thoughts, and Steph looked down to see M’Baku turn to his side towards her, still remaining in a deep sleep. A small smile crept on Steph’s face as she watched him sleep, thinking how he looked so innocent and peaceful when he slept, but Steph knew better that M’Baku was  _ far _ from either one of those traits. Just like Tony was. Steph had to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill as thoughts of Tony came to her mind again. It was still hard to think about him, but it was getting better as the days passed by.

Turns out, the rumors of Tony and Pepper dating were just that: rumors and nothing more. Natasha had called in a favor and found out that the rumor was spread by one of the many tabloids, and Steph would be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved when she first heard the news; however, it did not mean Tony was nowhere near the dating scene. Even though Tony and Pepper had once dated in the past, they broke up way before Steph was pulled out of the ice from the Valkyrie, and Tony had eventually looked to Pepper as a sister who watched over him. According to Natasha’s resource, he had gotten back to dating models again, and he was currently dating one who was tall and blonde. It was nothing serious and it was very obvious they were having sex, but there were a lot of trust issues between them so they often got into a lot of fights where they would break up before getting back together again. Steph felt she was to blame for that, and she wished she could do something to show how sorry she really was, but she was a fugitive and it was too risky. Or was she just making excuses so that she wouldn’t have to face him after what she did? Maybe it was a bit of both?

Steph could not be mad at Tony for sleeping with someone else, she was practically doing the same in the case with M’Baku. And she just knew that she broke Tony’s heart when she betrayed him and kept something from him that was very important, so it was no surprise that he had a hard time trusting the person he is supposed to love. She just hoped that he didn’t let his trust issues consume him that it became unhealthy. He had good friends looking out for him (such as Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy), though, so she trusted them to look after him since she couldn’t. ‘ _ And he probably wouldn’t even allow me to if I tried _ ,’ she thought with a sigh.

M’Baku continued to sleep peacefully next to her, and he eventually put an arm around her waist, and Steph put a hand on his arm, rubbing a thumb on a certain spot in response and making her notice how dark his skin was compared to hers. It did not make Steph think he was any less handsome, it just reminded her that despite having similar life-experiences, they were still different: he was a lord of his tribe and Steph was a fugitive and, therefore, an outsider within his country. He had an obligation to his people and their best interests while Steph had an obligation to protect the world. Not that she loved him the way she loved Tony or anything, she made it very clear to M’Baku that she wasn’t looking for a committed relationship, much to the relief of M’Baku’s advisors, it just reminded her of how different they were.

Eventually, Steph began to fiddle with her heart locket that Tony gave her and opened the locket where she saw a small picture of Tony with his usual cocky grin. She smiled when she looked at the picture as it brought good memories of her and Tony. All the birthdays and holidays they celebrated together, all the date nights and vacations they had together, all the times they had fought and then made-up. She definitely missed him and hoped in someway or another that Tony missed her too, even though she hurt him badly.

She was then brought out of her thoughts at the sound of M’Baku groaning. Steph looked down to see him waking up, stretching as he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

“White Lion, how long have you been awake?” he asked as he sat up. He then planted a soft kiss on her naked shoulder, brushing her now short curly hair that was once long, having cut it not too long after she became a fugitive.

‘White Lion’ was the nickname that Steph was dubbed when she first met M’Baku. When first coming across her, she had a fierce look on her face as if daring anyone to attack her and that she would not hesitate to fight anyone if they did. M’Baku said that it reminded him of a lion who was ready to attack when provoked and because she is white, he had dubbed her ‘White Lion’. Steph did not mind the nickname, she thought it was rather endearing and it fitted her, just as the nickname ‘White Wolf’ for Bucky fitted him. She also felt it was a nickname that fitted for the both of them. She did not think she would allow M’Baku to call her ‘Goldilocks’ or ‘Capsicle’, though, only one person was allowed to call her that and that was Tony.

She looked at the time to determine how long she’s been up in order to answer M’Baku’s question.

“Not long,” she finally responded, turning back to him, “about twenty minutes or so.”

M’Baku gave her a look of concern. “Is there something on your mind, White Lion?” he asked.

“No, not really,” Steph lied as she continued to fiddle with her necklace. “Just had a nightmare, ‘s all.”

“Is it about your old lover that you call Tony?”

Steph looked at M’Baku in surprise, wondering how he knew about Tony. Of all the times they had talked, spent some time with each other, or had sex, she did not once mention Tony to him. They did not talk about their past relationships with each other. The only thing Steph knew about M’Baku’s past relationships is that he once had a wife who passed away a while ago, making him a widow.

“How did you know about Tony?” she asked.

“Given my own personal experience, I know a broken-hearted soul when I see one,” M’Baku responded. “I also heard you cry a couple of times when you thought I was asleep, and you say his name when you’re dreaming.”

“Oh,” she replied with a blush in embarrassment, “I’m sorry about that.”

“What reason do you have to be sorry for? You had your heart broken, I more than anything know how you feel.”

“It’s more like I broke his heart, but I feel like I was left with no choice, he would’ve killed my best friend if I didn’t stop him. I think that’s the part that hurts the most…”

“That man in the red suit that you fought back in Siberia almost two years ago, he is your old lover?”

“Man in the red suit?” Steph repeated, a smile beginning to form on her face, nearly laughing at the fact that M’Baku didn’t know Tony’s name. She was used to people knowing who he is.

“I’m afraid his name escapes me, my dear white lion,” M’Baku responded. “And you must remember that my tribe and I were isolated in the mountains for thousands of years, you can’t blame me for being ignorant to the outside world…”

“Point taken, my lord, you must forgive my own ignorance then, I’m just not used to people not knowing who he is.”

“You’re lucky I like you so much,” M’Baku said with a smirk.

“I wonder what you would do to me if you didn’t like me,” Steph replied, smirking back.

“You should ask the Border Tribe and T’Challa that.”

Steph laughed in response at that. She knew all about the story of how M’Baku tried becoming king through ritual combat and that he fought against the Border Tribe to protect Wakanda (and the world) from Killmonger.

“You still love him.”

M’Baku said this more as a statement than a question, and it was not missed by Steph. She was quiet as she continued fiddling with her locket, trying her best to keep the tears at bay and was able to successfully do it. It was still hard to think about Tony. There were days where she would just cry her eyes out, but it was getting better day by day and she was crying less these days.

“I would be lying if I said no,” she finally said.

“At least you're honest, I admire that in you, I always have.”

“There are times where I am not honest…”

“You’re referring to your friend, the White Wolf?”

Steph nodded, and M’Baku said nothing as he stared at her with a look of empathy on his face, understanding a little of what Steph was going through. Since he first met the disgraced Avenger, he knew she was dealing with a wound that hurt her deep in her soul, he saw it in her face, even when she tried putting up a front that she was fine. He was all too familiar with that, having been through that with his late wife when she passed away years ago, and he could relate to Stephanie’s pain and the heartache she was feeling. The only difference between the two is that Stephanie’s old lover was alive, and his wife was not.

M’Baku knew that the relationship between them was mainly sexual, but he also began to see her as more than just as a sexual partner. To know and understand the burden she carried, it made him realize that this went deeper than just a lover’s spat, and he could see she was carrying a lot of guilt from what had happened. That was another thing he could relate to, at least, as he often felt guilty over his wife’s death, having blamed himself over it.

He saw her fiddling with her necklace again, he noticed she did that a lot whenever she was nervous or thinking about something. The necklace obviously held a lot of significance to her, and curiosity got the best of M’Baku, so he reached over to grab it. Steph jumped a little, surprised by the movement more than anything, and held onto her necklace protectively, but relaxed when M’Baku told her he just wanted to look at it and let him take the pendant from her hand. He held the pendant in his hand and saw how simple and elegant it was. Her name was engraved on the pendant and there were diamonds and a green line around the edge of the pendant. It was beautiful, even if the color was starting to fade a little and one of the diamonds was missing. That made it obvious Stephanie wore it often and the necklace meant something to her, and M’Baku knew what that significance was.

“He gave this to you, didn’t he?” he asked.

Steph paused before finally nodding.

“It was a one-year anniversary gift from him, I had a necklace that was similar that my mother gave to me when I turned fourteen years old. I lost it during the war and I was pretty heartbroken when SHIELD told me that they couldn’t find it on the Valkyrie when they found me.”

Steph smiled as she thought over hers and Tony’s one-year anniversary with fondness.

“I told Tony about the necklace one day and how heartbroken I was over losing it, and he decided to give me this as a way to remind me of my mother, of who I am, and to give me something special for our anniversary.”

M’Baku gave Steph a look of empathy as he saw the blissful yet sad look on Steph’s face. He stared at her for a moment or two before he let go of her pendant and then held his necklace in his hand to show Steph, it was a necklace that held what looked like the tooth of an animal. What kind, though, Steph did not really know. She often saw him wear the necklace, but did not ask about it as she figured it was not really her business to ask and that it held some sort of cultural significance to him.

“This necklace belonged to my wife,” he said. “She died giving birth to our third child. When she died, I was very heartbroken and I blamed myself for a long time…”

“M’Baku, you don’t have to tell me this.”

“No, I want to tell you, it could help you.”

Steph was quiet as she thought about it. She wasn’t really sure about him talking about his wife, it wasn’t really how their relationship worked. While they were still friends and fellow warriors, their relationship was mainly sexual, and they avoided talking about their emotions to prevent them from developing any emotional attachments with each other. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad so talk about their emotions, though, it might help a lot better than just sexing it out, so she gave M’Baku her consent by nodding.

“I blamed myself for my wife’s death for a long time, I often thought if I had not let my pride get in the way that she might still be alive,” M’Baku continued. “There is not a day goes by where I don’t miss her, kind of like how you miss your old lover. I think in your situation, it is different. Unlike my wife, your old lover is still alive. Because of that, I think you have a chance of working it out.”

“It’s not that simple,” Steph responded, looking away from him, “I basically betrayed him in ways that not even a simple apology will make it better or have him forgive me.”

“You did it to protect your friend, though, and that makes you an honorable woman. Sometimes, we make decisions that hurt the ones we love, but we make those decisions because it is the right thing to do. Okoye is living proof of that.”

“I’m not sure Tony will understand that…”

A tear escaped from Steph’s eye and she quickly wiped it away so M’Baku wouldn’t see it. She hated showing vulnerability to people, unless she was really close to them, but it was clear M’Baku saw it for he was giving her a look of sympathy. He did not do anything at first, he just stared at her with a contemplative look as if deep in thought over something before he gently grabbed her by her chin and made her look at him in the eyes.

“Let me ask you something, White Lion,” he began, “do you doubt your old lover’s ability to understand because of your actions or do you doubt  _ him _ ?”

Steph opened her mouth, but as soon as she did, she closed it back up, M’Baku’s words registering in her mind. Did she really believe Tony wouldn’t understand or forgive her because of her actions  _ or  _ did she doubt he would even be capable of understanding and forgiving her? It wasn’t something she originally thought of and now that M’Baku brought it up, she began to think if it was the former or the latter. Both her and Tony had their issues, even more so after the events of Ultron and when Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones started wreaking havoc. However, that did not mean they did not love each other and were trying to work on those issues before the events of the Civil War happened.

“I think it could be a bit of both,” she finally answered M’Baku.

“I think you give your old lover very little credit then, I do not think he would let you break your friends out of prison if he didn’t understand. He may be angry, but he obviously loved and understood you enough to do that.”

Steph supposed that was true. Tony could be spiteful and vengeful at times, and she did not think Tony would have let her do that if he was still angry at her for what she did. It made her feel a little hopeful that one day he will forgive her, and a smile began to form at the thought of that. Then, she realized what M’Baku said and she gave him a suspicious look. Not many people knew that Tony had allowed her to break the others out of the Raft, so how exactly did he know that? Unless….

“You knew that Tony and Iron Man were one in the same before I told you, didn’t you?” she asked, and M’Baku had the ability to look sheepish when she did before nodding. “When?”

“T’Challa talked to me not too long after you and I first slept with each other,” M’Baku responded. “He did not give me all the details of what happened, but that you were dealing with the fallout from a bad breakup and I should tread lightly. Curiosity got the best of me, and I may have dug a little into your past relationship with the help of Princess Shuri…”

“You could have just asked me about it, ya know?” Steph said. “I would have just been honest and told you what happened.”

“I would have, except you have been gone for months and I got impatient,” M’Baku replied. “It’s kind of hard to keep in touch with someone who is a fugitive.”

“Perhaps I should ask Princess Shuri to let me borrow the kimoyo beads so we can keep in touch,” Steph said with a playful smirk on her face. “Although, I don’t think your advisors would like it too much if they found out we were keeping in touch outside of Wakanda.”

“Probably not, but who I lay with is no one’s business but my own, and it does not affect my ability to be a great leader to my people.”

Steph nodded in agreement, believing him to be a great leader. He could come across as harsh, but he was actually stern, and that made him a great leader to his people. After it was quiet for some time, Steph started to fiddle with her necklace again before she turned to M’Baku with an almost nervous look on her face.

“Do you…do you think that in time, that Tony will forgive me? That maybe we have the chance of, I dunno, starting over, perhaps?”

M’Baku gave her a sad look before sighing and saying, “I can’t tell you what will happen, that will be giving you false hope and I’m too honest for that and so are you. It is going to be up to our choices in what happens, so you have to let your old lover make that decision.”

It was not the exact answer she wanted, but she knew there was truth to M’Baku’s words. It was better for him to be upfront and honest than to give her false hope, and she valued honesty more than anything else. She could only hope for a second chance with Tony, but she couldn’t let herself have high hopes. M’Baku was right: it was going to be all up to Tony. If the circumstances were different and she was not on the run, perhaps she would be able to show Tony how sorry she really was.

“In the case he does not, though,” M’Baku continued, “I’ll gladly take you as my wife. Your old lover is handsome enough, but he does not come close to me. I’m certainly more handsome than him, all the ladies of my tribe will tell you that.”

Steph rolled her eyes at that, even though she could hear the jest in his tone. ‘ _ Men _ ,’ she thought, ‘ _ their arrogance really has no bounds. _ ’

“Yeah, right, you’d definitely give your advisors a heart attack if you did that. Not to mention how the Council will react if they find out.”

“I never really cared much for the opinion of the Council, anyway.”

Steph chuckled at that, and the action brought a smile on M’Baku’s face. It was then that Steph realized that she felt lighter than she did before and, just like T’Challa did months ago, her heartache and her worries were almost forgotten. The difference between the moment with T’Challa and the moment with M’Baku is that she felt more hopeful than she did in the past that Tony would forgive her. Maybe M’Baku was right, it is possible that there may or may not be a second chance between her and Tony, but perhaps she can accept that and just accept him forgiving her instead.

She looked up to M’Baku to thank him only to stop when she saw the expression on his face that she could not exactly read, but it was a look that reminded her of the way Tony used to look at her before the Civil War. She blushed at the intense gaze and looked away, it’s been awhile since someone looked at her like that. She was used to the lustful gazes, but to see someone look at her as if she was the most beautiful person in the world made her nervous more than anything else. It also made Steph realize that maybe M’Baku cared about her more than she originally thought, and seeing him look at her like that made her feel guilty. Despite the fact that she cared about M’Baku, she knew she could not care for him the way he obviously cared for her, especially since she was still in love with Tony.

“M’Baku…” she began, but was then interrupted by him.

“Please, don’t, you don’t have to explain it to me, I already know and am fully aware how you feel. I know this relationship was only meant to be sexual and I tried keeping it that way, but after getting to know you over this past year and half now, I began to feel something for you. But I never pursued them because I understand that you still have feelings for Stark and my advisors would be adamantly against us being together, even though our king has opened our borders a little to those in the outside world…”

He said this last part with a bit of disapprovement in his tone before continuing on.

“We may have opened our borders, but we are still wary of outsiders and upholding our traditions.”

And Steph was reminded of the words that T’Challa told her months ago now. If Steph felt the same deep feelings for him the way he did for her, she would have lamented at the unfairness of it all, but she thinks (or at least hopes) that she would eventually understand and accept it before moving on. She understood the Wakandians weariness of the outside world and those that lived outside of it, having seen and witnessed the treatment of people who looked like M’Baku. She has even witnessed people mistreating Jones and Sam a couple times on the basis of that, and she would stand up for them every time, but even she—the great Captain America—was not immune to her own biases and prejudices that she was confronted with and had to unlearn. If she had lived in another lifetime and was born in Wakanda, she would be wary of people and things outside of her country too.

She was brought out of her musing when she heard M’Baku continue talking.

“I understand that you still love him, and I know I can’t replace him and I have no expectation that I will,” he said. “You have a duty to your heart, and you have always followed it. I, however, have a duty to my people and I do what’s right by them. My only wish is for you to be happy, White Lion, whether that is with this Stark fellow or someone else.”

Hearing that brought a grateful and affectionate smile to Steph’s face. M’Baku could come across as being gruff and very stern, which he really was on that last one, but he was also kind and had a noble heart. Most men would get jealous and insecure about their love interest still being hung up over their ex. M’Baku, however, showed that he understood and was not going to try to change that. Maybe it had something to do with the cultural differences and the expectation that was placed on him that made him understood, but Steph was at least grateful that he had no intention of trying to sway her.

She was about to tell M’Baku how grateful she was when there was the sound of something beeping, and it took Steph a second to realize it was her pager beeping. Turning away from M’Baku, she reached for it on the nightstand that was on her side of the bed and looked to see who paged her.

“It’s Sam,” she said and then turned back to M’Baku. “I have to go, he and Natasha will be waiting for me.”

Steph did not give M’Baku a chance to respond, for she suddenly threw the sheets off of herself and got up in search of her clothes. While she did that, M’Baku himself got up and put on a pair of pants and grabbed something from inside his nightstand before walking towards Stephanie. Normally, M’Baku was not shy and would walk around naked without a care when it came to his lovers, but he understood that Stephanie was. At first, M’Baku did not understand why she was so shy or insecure about showing off her body, considering they have already seen each other naked before, but he eventually learned that it was more of a cultural difference for her than her being insecure.

He looked to Stephanie and saw that she was already dressed up in her uniform and was now putting on her belt. The uniform was similar to her old one: it was fitted and accented her curves in all the right places, and the neckline was high where it covered most of her neck. The major difference is that the color was much more darker than her old one, especially around the wait, and the sleeves only reached a couple inches below her wrists. M’Baku could not help but admire her as he watched her get dressed in her uniform, it reminded him of someone preparing for battle, which she was. After she put on her belt, her combat boots already on, she then turned to M’Baku and the latter had to mentally prepare himself for the heartache that was to come and remind himself that this was for the best for the both of them. Her heart belonged to another, and he had a duty to his people.

Steph saw the look on his face when she turned around, and she gave him a look of sympathy. Approaching him, she reached out a hand, her right hand, to him to caress his check, but she was stopped when M’Baku grabbed her hand. He then turned it over so that her palm was facing upwards and placed something in her hand. Looking down at her palm, Steph could see that it was a bracelet and there was a charm on it with the face of a cat. She has visited Wakanda enough times to know that the image of the cat was supposed to be the likeness of their goddess, Bast, and she looked at M’Baku in surprise when she realized it.

“M’Baku, I can’t take this…” she began as she attempted to hand it back to him, but he stopped her once more.

“No, please, I want you to have it,” he began. “I know that you and I have different beliefs, but our king took you and your friend in as our own when you had nowhere to go and needed help. I was reluctant to our king letting outsiders in our country, but overtime, I began to see you as one of our own as well, it is why I want you to have this.”

He then took her wrist and put the bracelet on her and continued talking as he did.

“This charm is meant to protect those who wear it as Bast is our protector, she watches over and protects us in our time of need. I hope that when you wear this, it will remind you that someone out there is always watching over you and protecting you.”

Steph was touched, and she did not know what to say or think. Just that it was incredibly sweet and generous of him to give this to her. She felt moved, knowing that there were people who made her feel like she belonged, even when the whole world had shunned and outcasted her. She became so overwhelmed with emotions that she suddenly put her arms around M’Baku, pulling him into a hug. The action nearly surprised M’Baku, but he eventually reciprocated the hug, pulling her into an embrace as tight as he could as if it was the last time they would see each other.

It was a while before the two finally pulled away from each other, and it took all of M’Baku’s willpower not to kiss her as he pressed his forehead against hers and cupped her face with his hands. Steph knew what he wanted to do, and she could see the hesitation in his eyes, so she decided to give him something as a parting gift. Standing on her tiptoes, as M’Baku was a head taller than her, she placed a gentle and sweet kiss on his cheek, and M’Baku leaned into the kiss before kissing her back, kissing her a little closer to her mouth than Steph did.

“Thank you, Great Gorilla, for everything,” Steph whispered once they finally parted from each other. “I hope you’ll find a Jabari queen who will give you everything you deserve and more.”

“And I for you to find your king,” M’Baku replied as he kissed her knuckles.

And with that, the two lovers said their goodbyes, never to see each other again as lovers, for the next time they see each other is three months later on a battlefield against an alien invasion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you go, there's my one-shot! I was not going to have M'Baku have feelings for Steph, but it just ended up flowing that way.
> 
> Before any of you come after me about how M'Baku would not have showed any jealousy over Steph still being in love with Tony, I'm gonna stop you right there! I'm poly, so my thoughts on jealousy and relationships are a little different. Does that mean I'm going to make Steph and Tony poly? No, I'm not, but I believe that people's views on relationships varies from culture to culture, and I don't think African culture is any different, depending on which African country you are in. I'd imagine there being cultural differences on relationships between America and Wakanda, and M'Baku being understanding that Steph was still in love with Tony and that he would not try to change that. Not only that, but he is lord of the tribe, he is going to put the interests of his people above everything else. However, I am not going to directly state the cultural differences because the Black Panther movie series is relatively new, so there is still a lot that we don't know, and I'm hoping future movies will delve more into them. I also have not read any of the comics on the Black Panther, so I can't really say what their culture is like. I googled it and the only information I really got was the religious beliefs of Wakanda and that's all.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, click the kudos button or leave a review <3

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it, hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment if you wish, but no flames please, thank you!
> 
> Second chapter will come up as soon as possible. I actually got called back into work after being furloughed for 3 months now, so I will update the second chapter to this and chapter six of Between Two Universes as soon as I am able to. Thanks!


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